Dan Ireland is in his 11th year as
coach of the men’s middle distance and distance
runners. He joined the Bulldog staff in January of 2000 and
made an immediate impact on those areas and on the cross-country
squad. The 2008-2009 school year was another successful
campaign as the Bulldogs once again made numerous additions to both
the indoor and outdoor all-time lists. In addition, the Elis
had great success at the Heptagonal Championships and the Penn
Relays as Ireland’s runners garnered All-Ivy in the indoor
4x800m relay and a runner-up finish at the Penn Relays, breaking
the meet record in the College section, in the 4x800m relay with a
time of 7:25. In his tenure he has guided his runners to two
All-American performances, 12 NCAA Regional qualifiers, 36 All-Ivy
performances (nine Ivy Champions), 112 All-East performances and 11
school records. In addition, 56 of his athletes have run
performances that place them among the 15 best all-time at
Yale. He has also directed numerous other Bulldog runners to
scoring places at championship meets from 800m to 10,000m.
While annually improving the athletic performances at Yale
each year Ireland has continued with the tradition of academic
excellence as the men’s cross-country team achieved
All-Academic status again and is the only school in the country
that has accomplished this for the last 10 years in a
row.

As an athlete at Georgetown, Ireland was a
three-time NCAA participant as a member of the Hoya cross country
squad, and the Big East Champion and IC4A bronze medalist at
10,000m. He went on to coach at his alma mater for the next
six years under the guidance of former Hoya mentor Frank
Gagliano. In addition to his collegiate duties with
Georgetown, Ireland cut his coaching teeth with the preeminent
distance running club in the US, the Reebok Enclave in Washington,
D.C. During his stint with the Enclave, Ireland worked with
numerous world and national class athletes, including four
Olympians. He brings an extensive background in middle
distance and distance training to New Haven.

A 1991 graduate of Georgetown with a degree in
international relations, Ireland earned his masters in 1998, and
has brought a renewed enthusiasm to Yale Cross Country and Track
and Field, with the goal of establishing a national class
program. He lives in Branford, Conn., with his wife, Christi,
an assistant cross country and track and field coach at Yale, and
their children, Jacob, Alaina and Addison.